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Today's Paper | November 22, 2024

Updated 25 Dec, 2017 07:52pm

'This is not the final visit,' says FO after Jadhav's meeting with family

Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal at a press conference after Kulbhushan Jadhav's meeting with his family members in Islamabad on Monday said it was not the Indian spy's last meeting.

"This meeting has nothing to do with the case pending before the International Court of Justice or with politics," Dr Faisal said.

Jadhav's wife and mother were both our guests, he said, adding: "They came and left in an honourable fashion."

The wife (2L) and mother (L) of Kulbushan Jadhav leave after meeting with Jadhav at the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad.— AFP

"As Jadhav's wife and mother were leaving, they thanked Pakistan, the FO, me, my team," Dr Faisal said. "They were satisfied with the meeting."

"It was around 35 minutes long. Jadhav requested that it may be extended a little bit," so it ran to about 40 minutes, the FO spokesperson said.

"They spoke openly during the meeting," Dr Faisal said, adding that the Indian High Commissioner JP Singh, who accompanied Avanti and Chetankul Jadhav, was present outside the meeting room and did not hear the conversation that took place between the family members.

Kulbhushan Jadhav's mother Avanti speaks to FO Spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the meeting with her son. ─ DawnNews

"We fulfilled the promises we made to them."

"Let me be very clear that Pakistan permitted the Indian request totally on humanitarian grounds in line with Islamic principles and teachings. Islam is a religion of peace... and it was a gesture of good faith and compassion," he said. "It has nothing to do with consular access," he added.

Jadhav's wife and mother also brought a gift for him, DawnNews reported, which is yet to be handed over to him.

A copy of the medical report presented by the FO spokesperson. ─ Photo courtesy Naveed Siddiqui

The FO spokesperson also presented a medical report for Jadhav that showed he is in "good health" and "everything is normal".

The FO spokesperson said Pakistan would have preferred if Jadhav's wife and mother had spoken to Pakistani media.

"This was done in the spirit that Pakistan has nothing to hide and, like all of you, seeks the answers to many questions that remain unanswered," he added.

"One good deed should beget another, and such a decision should serve as a template for others to follow, including in Indian Occupied Kashmir, where innocent blood continues to be spilled," he suggested.

'Face of Indian terrorism in Pakistan'

The FO spokesperson described the Indian spy as "the face of Indian terrorism in Pakistan" and detailed his confessions before the press.

Jadhav had admitted to involvement in the assassination of senior superintendent of police Chaudhry Mohammed Aslam Khan in Karachi in 2014, the targeting of Frontier Works Organisation activities in Balochistan, and improvised explosive device attacks in Quetta, Turbat and other cities in Balochistan, the FO spokesperson said.

The spy also confessed to supporting the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and other groups, especially in the attack on the Mehran Naval Base, various radar installations and the Sui gas pipeline attack, all of which were directly funded by Indian intelligence agency Research Analysis Wing, Dr Faisal said.

The FO spokesperson said India had been presented with a copy of the passport in Jadhav's possession when he was arrested. The passport showed he had travelled in and out of India 17 times, he added.

"Indian silence is telling," he asserted. "There is a list of 15 names we have given to India asking for details on them."

After completion of the investigation into Jadhav, Pakistan offered to allow his wife to visit him, after which India requested that his mother also be permitted to meet him, the FO spokesperson said, and the request was subsequently granted.

With additional reporting by Syed Sammer Abbas and Naveed Siddiqui.

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